Norway Savings Bank Grows Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Norway Savings Bank boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 21.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,218 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the period. Norway Savings Bank’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $666,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HCA. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 322.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,141,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,276,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,397,883 shares during the last quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 53.3% during the second quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $369,472,000 after acquiring an additional 400,000 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Group LP acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at $150,548,000. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 210.6% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 306,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,691,000 after purchasing an additional 208,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 843,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,020,000 after purchasing an additional 193,075 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 3.5 %

NYSE:HCA traded up $10.31 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $307.23. The stock had a trading volume of 1,057,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,169,069. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1-year low of $276.50 and a 1-year high of $417.14. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $325.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $354.69. The company has a market cap of $77.82 billion, a PE ratio of 13.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.64.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HCA. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Raymond James lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $400.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.27.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $1,363,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 52,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,445,700. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total transaction of $1,023,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,843 shares in the company, valued at $2,415,579. The trade was a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

HCA Healthcare Profile

HCA Healthcare, Inc, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates hospitals and related healthcare entities in the United States. It operates general and acute care hospitals that offers medical and surgical services, including inpatient care, intensive care, cardiac care, diagnostic, and emergency services; and outpatient services, such as outpatient surgery, laboratory, radiology, respiratory therapy, cardiology, and physical therapy.